My note…wow guys, thank you for the warm response. I was worried about this story, more than most, probably because it's the most Jimmy focused story I've ever done….and I really want to get it right. Your kind words of encouragement and support have given me so much happiness, thanks.

Now, let's get a little JimAsh fluff goin'…

ONE SMALL STEP

CHAPTER 3: KEEPING SECRETS

It was a typical Sunday afternoon, Jimmy sat on the couch in Ashley's family room, though this particular day, he was barely able to keep his eyes open as he waited for her to get some drinks from the kitchen. Jimmy had made sure Ashley was completely out of the room before even attempting to transfer from his chair to the couch, which actually turned out to be a good thing, because as soon as he pushed down on his hands, his arms began to shake with effort, and he landed sideways onto the cushion with an ungraceful 'plop'.

His upper body was unbelievably sore, and his head still felt a little funny from the way his blood pressure fluctuated yesterday, after Lana increased his time spent on the tilt table. "I made some popcorn...I thought we could sneak a movie in before dinner", Ashley chirped as she reentered the room with a tray full of goodies. Jimmy nodded and smiled graciously as Ashley placed the tray on the coffee table in front of them.

"Sounds good", he forced out, blinking his eyelids rapidly and fighting the urge to yawn. He hadn't slept well for the past week, at first because of all of the internal conflict he was going through and now because of the physical demands he was putting on himself.

Ashley slid down onto her knees and opened the drawer in the bottom of the coffee table, that housed the dvd selection."What're you in the mood for...drama, comedy, action/adventure...", she paused to look up at him. Jimmy's expression softened immediately and his grin widened...he almost looked as though he were in a trance. "What?", Ashley asked, blushing under his intense scrutiny.

Jimmy reddened a bit too, at being caught starring. "Sorry...it's just...I love the way you look when you're looking up at me", he answered bashfully, shaking his head in emabarrassment. Ashley bounced up onto her knees and rested her elbows on Jimmy's thighs, she tilted her chin in his direction as her blue eyes locked with his brown ones. A strong finger ran up the side of her cheek and across the long lashes of her eyes, "You're so beautiful Ash".

Ashley's heart skipped a beat and she rose enough to slide right into Jimmy lap, cuddling up against his chest. This was the position Jimmy was most used to...being eye to eye with Ashley. She was the one person who always made the effort to get down to his level any time she could, even if it meant planting herself on his lap in the middle of a grocery store aisle...but then again, Ashley was famous for finding any excuse possible to climb into her boyfriends lap.

Jimmy moved to wrap his arms around Ashley but gasped and flinched when he raised his shoulder too high. "You okay?", she asked concernedly as she unzipped his hooded sweatshirt the rest of the way down and ran her hands over the snug t-shirt that outlined his developing arm and chest muscles. She smiled approvingly. "Is Boris being too hard on you?", Ashley asked playfully and began to knead the tightness away. "Because if he is, I'll come down there next Saturday and...".

"No", Jimmy cut in, a little to quickly and Ashley stopped what she was doing, to give him a questioning look. "Um no, Boris's been great. It's me actually...just wanna build my arms up a little more...increase my energy level...", he answered carefully, feeling pretty comfortable with the fact that at least most of what he said was the truth. He tried to change the subject with a little bit of bragging, "I did twenty chin ups yesterday".

Ashley's touch softened into a gentle caress and she grinned proudly at him. "Well just remember to save some of that energy...if you work too hard in physio, that won't leave any for me", she stated seductively, slipping her fingers up and under his t-shirt.

Jimmy gasped when Ashley's cool fingers crawled over his middle abdomen and across his chest, a renewed burst of energy coursing through him. "Oh don't worry Ash...I have plenty left for you", he smirked, running his hand through her hair and pulling her in for a kiss.

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"Where's Jimmy?", Jeff asked Ashley, as she walked into the kitchen about an hour or so later.

"Crashin' on the couch", she chuckled in response and snatched a cooked carrot from the pot the roast was sitting in, on the stove.

"All that kissing must have worn him out", Kate teased her daughter playfully. Ashley blushed at her mothers bluntness, but put on her best innocent expression as she walked passed her.

"Yeah, one minute he's sucking your face, the next minute he's snoring in it", Toby taunted from the table, earning him a much deserved clap on the back of the head from Ashley.

"It wasn't like that...he yawned first, we laid down...and then he fell asleep", she explained defensively, but saying it that way, really didn't make it sound any better and she cringed slightly.

"He's been awfully tired lately...I hope he's not coming down with something", Kate offered, in a motherly way. Ashley knew that her parents cared about Jimmy as much as they did their own...heck, her and Jeff joked all the time that he was one of their own.

Ashley thought it over and shrugged, while Jimmy didn't seem to be getting sick, he was definitely more tired than usual and just a little more preoccupied with something. "I don't think so Mom", she dismissed her concern. "He's just been putting a little extra time in at physio on Saturdays, while I'm at the studio".

"Yeah, come to think of it...we haven't seen Jimmy on Saturdays at all since you started your music thing again", Toby stated disappointedly and Ashley immediately felt guilty.

"Well, it's not like he's gonna come over here just to hang out with you", she teased back playfully.

Toby glared at his step-sister, "Hey, Jimmy's my fr...".

"Jimmy's what?", a strong, but still slightly groggy voice called out, just before Jimmy made his apperance into the kitchen.

Kate and Jeff didn't even attempt to hide their amused smiles, and neither did Ashley...she loved how adorable sleepy Jimmy looked. "Sorry, if we were too loud...did we wake you?", she asked sweetly, cupping her hand over Jimmy's cheek and rubbing it gently with her thumb.

Jimmy grinned like a cheshire cat and grabbed Ashley by the other hand, spinning her around and onto his lap. "Just got a little cold", he stated suggestively, in a husky voice. Then sniffing a little, Jimmy looked up at Kate and worked the magic of his grin on her. "And a little hungry too", he added sheepishly.

With a smirk, Kate got down to business setting the food on the table as everyone found their seats. "So Jimmy, we haven't seen you in a few days...", Jeff paused to pass the mashed potatoes to Toby, then looked over in Jimmy's direction. "...anything new with you?", he asked genuinely.

Jimmy swallowed hard and forced a smile as he tried to think of an answer...these people were like his family and he didn't want to lie to them, but he couldn't tell them...not yet.

Maybe keeping this secret was going to be a little harder then he'd expected.

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Jimmy was already in class, as he usually was, when Anya walked into the art room, Monday morning. She was about to go up and talk to him, when Jane came up from behind her and yelled "boo".

The noise got Jimmy's attention and he threw a small smile their way, before Jane pulled Anya over to the back of the room, where their seats were. "Did I scare ya?", Jane teased, playfully tugging on one of Anya's braids.

"No", she answered sarcastically, brushing Jane's hand away.

"Then why'd you jump three feet into the air when I said boo", Jane chuckled in reply.

"Because you surprised me...there's a difference", Anya argued, peeved at herself for not being more prepared. She should've been...Jane's been doing that same thing to her, everyday, since their first day of third grade.

Jane rolled her eyes and grinned broadly. "Hmm, looks like my little Ani has an admirer", she exclaimed dramatically.

Anya bit her lip and let her eyes slowly drift up, and over in Jimmy's direction, but he was hunched over his desk, lining up his drawing pencils. So, Anya twisted her head to the side, just in time to catch sight of the fuzzy red-head on the other side of the glass wall, that Jane was referring to. "His name's Derek, he's in grade eleven", Jane elaborated. "...and he's totally checking you out".

"No he's not...", Anya shook her head disbelievingly. "He's probably checking you out", she added, countering the possibility.

Jane shrugged indifferently as she watched the boy and the dark-skinned kid he was with, walk away. "Doesn't matter though, I've got my eyes on camo dude ", she smirked hungrily, but Anya just stared at her, lost. "His name is Spinner...Gavin actually, but everyone calls him Spinner. He's the one that's always hanging around with Jimmy over there", she rambled, nodding in Jimmy's direction and Anya was able to put the two together.

"How do you know all of this stuff?", Anya asked incredulously.

Jane chuckled. "I actually talk to people", she teased and slung her arm loosly around Anya's shoulders. "Unlike my timid and meek little Ani".

"Miss Chekofsky, Miss Barnes?", the teacher implored from the front of the class, as he was ready to begin. Jane smirked and straightened studiously as Anya cowered slightly and blushed. She tried to push aside her embarrassment, but the redness only intensified when she caught a glimpse of Jimmy Brooks, smiling at her from over his shoulder.

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"Got busted, eh?", a deep voice called out from somewhere to her left. Anya turned to see Jimmy sitting right outside of the art room, waiting for her after class.

"Yeah...it was all Jane's fault though", she answered playfully, placing the blame on her outgoing and very talkative best friend. Anya returned the friendly grin Jimmy was giving her. "I thought you'd be on your way to your next class by now", she stated questionably, as Jimmy pivoted to head in the same direction as her.

"I'm headin' out...got a bus to catch", he explained, motioning toward the school entrance.

"Physio", she figured, knowing her father's associate worked during the week, in her clients homes. "Lana comes to your house, right?".

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, everyday from eleven thirty to tweleve thirty. We tried to work it out so I'm only missing fourth period and lunch and I'm back by fifth", he explained. "At first, my parents wanted to schedule my sessions after school, so I wouldn't have to miss class...but it's not good for me to go that long of a stretch, without therapy", Jimmy added, falling into such a comfortable rhythm with this girl, he'd just recently befriended. "And she said now would be a good time to add a few more sessions in during the week, late afternoons maybe early evenings".

Jimmy caught the perplexed look on Anya's face and brought his chair to a stop, in front of her. "That's the reason I waited for you...", he continued. "...I wanted to thank you for helping me last week". Anya's expression went from perplexed to downright confused. "That talk we had...", he prompted, but to no avail. "...I've decided to, um...try what Lana was suggesting", he whispered cryptically, not exactly sure about who could be around him at any given time.

"Wow Jimmy, that's really great", Anya exclaimed, as excitedly as she could in the crowded hallway.

Now it was Jimmy's turn to be perplexed, he was sure she would've already known. "Your dad didn't tell you?", he asked incredulously.

Anya shook her head. "No, my dad doesn't discuss his clients at home... he can't...something about privacy laws...", she shrugged, not fully understanding the legailty of it all.

"How did you know then...about the...?", Jimmy prodded with an open ended question.

"Oh yeah, that", Anya stammered nervously. "Well, I was sorta out in the hall when you and Lana came out...and I accidently overheard your conversation...so that's how I knew you guys were discussing the walking therapy...".

"Shhhh", Jimmy cut her off, causing Anya to look at him quizzically. He bit down on his lip nervously and looked around the now thinning hall. "Nobody knows about it yet, not even my parents...and I kinda want to keep it that way", he stated, secretively. Anya could see the conflict and hesitance still evident in Jimmy's eyes.

Jimmy sighed heavily and looked up at her, "So between you and me...".

Anya smiled and nodded sincerely, "My lips are sealed".

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Another short chapter with little action, but that will change with the next one. I want to build up this part of the story, so the rest flows properly. There will be a lot of drama and angst to come, especially in the JimAsh department. I wasn't sure of Jane's last name, but for some reason Barnes got stuck in my head, so that's what she got.

And to all of the wonderful reviewers...Kelley(lilfiftyfour), Raina-Bess, Sunshyne08 and last, but definitely not least, Heather(havocmangawip)...you guys are so amazing and I really appreciate all the wonderful comments and support. Thanks!

Degrassi is not mine.